Shortcake

Lore & Background

The term 'short' in shortcake refers to a crumbly or crispy texture achieved by adding fat such as butter or lard. The earliest printed mention of 'short cake' is often cited as 1594 or later, not 1588 as sometimes claimed. Strawberries were included in a recipe for 'Strawberry cake' published in the June 1, 1845 issue of The Ohio Cultivator, later popularized by Eliza Leslie in The Lady's Receipt-book (1847). These early strawberry cakes were made of a thick unleavened cookie, split, and layered with fresh strawberries and cream—not covered with a hard sugar-and-egg white icing.

Reader's Guide

The introduction of baking soda and baking powder as leavening agents in the 1800s revolutionized shortcake, leading to the American biscuit-style shortcake. By the 1850s, leavened shortcakes became the popular basis for American strawberry cakes, and the term 'strawberry shortcake' became established. By the 1860s, cream was being poured onto the shortcake and strawberries, as seen in a June 1862 issue of the Genesse Farmer and in Jennie June's American Cookery Book (1866). The first known cookbook by a black woman in the United States, A Domestic Cook Book (1866) by Malinda Russell, also contains a shortcake recipe. Internationally, the UK has shortcake biscuits, while China's Xiting Shortcake, made since the Qing dynasty, consists of 18 layers of flour, lard, and sugar.

Did You Know?

• The earliest printed mention of 'short cake' is often cited as 1594 or later, not 1588 as sometimes claimed.
• Strawberry shortcake was popularized by Eliza Leslie in The Lady's Receipt-book (1847).
• Xiting Shortcake, a Chinese baked good from Jiangsu Province, has been made since the Qing dynasty and is a crisp cracker or wafer, not a layered baked good.
• The first known cookbook by a black woman in the United States, A Domestic Cook Book (1866) by Malinda Russell, contains a shortcake recipe.